Student Recruitment: A Community Effort

Last week I attended a webinar hosted by Christian School International on the topic of student recruitment. The two administrators from Christian school’s similar to our size shared ideas and stressed the importance of community involvement. I was encouraged because the things they shared we’ve been doing for the last couple of years.

Here are a few of those things we can keep doing as a community.

Sharing Your SCS Story

Roughly 70% of our new students are recruited by someone they know. This means our most powerful marketing tool is YOU! Word of mouth marketing is a conversation, it’s taking the time to share your SCS story with the people around you. Take a minute right now to think about why you send your kids to SCS, what do you love about the school, what about the school stands out to you? If you can answer these questions, you can talk with anyone about SCS. You can talk to families at church, your neighbors, and parents you meet at little league for example. You don’t have to have all the answers. If you get stumped, refer them to our website for more information, or connect them with our office.

Our Story on our Website

I’d encourage you to spend some time exploring our website. The website is our most useful marketing tool - it has information about our academic programs, athletics, stories from alumni and parents, upcoming events, and much much more. When talking to a friend about schools, after sharing your own story about SCS consider referring them to our website for more information.

Our School on Facebook

Our Facebook page is very active! We use it every week to share information about school happenings. Monday we posted about the awesome talent show! Did you like, comment or share it? Every time you “like” a post, information about school it reaches a larger community. “Sharing” a post is even better! Liking and sharing on Facebook is an easy way to help us reach more people and promote our school.

Your Online Reviews

Writing online reviews is a great way to share what you love about Shoreline Christian. This helps boost our website when someone searches for “Christian schools” on Google.

Here are some popular review sites - please take a minute to write a rave review:

Our School Brochure

Does your church have a bulletin board? Do you go to a MOPs group? Are you members at an athletic club? If you know the perfect spot for an SCS brochure - stop by the office and pick one up!

SCS Family Bonus: Referral Credit

Did you know we offer a referral credit? We really appreciate the word of mouth referrals we continue to receive! When you refer a friend or a neighbor you can get $650 toward tuition. You can apply it to your tuition bill, you can split it with the family you referred, or you can give it all to the new family. Remember the new family has to attend school for four months before you can cash in on the credit and it doesn’t apply to preschool families. Talk to Heidi Alberda or Kerry Matthews for more information.

Thank you for sharing your stories and making SCS such a great community!